When will Maharashtra Assembly election dates be announced? Poll panel says…

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced on Friday that Maharashtra Assembly elections will be held before November 26. While addressing the media, Kumar mentioned that the Election Commission of India (ECI) team had met with at least 11 political party leaders in the state to discuss election preparations.
Kumar stated that party leaders requested the commission to consider major festivals like Diwali, Dev Diwali, and Chhath Puja before finalising the election dates.
“We are here to prepare for the upcoming Assembly elections in Maharashtra. We met with leaders of national and regional parties, along with various stakeholders, including district magistrates, the Commissioner of Police, and the Director General of Police. Party leaders, including those from BSP, AAP, CPI(M), INC, MNS, SP, Shiv Sena (UBT), and Shiv Sena, asked us to take into account the festivals before announcing the election dates,” Kumar said, as quoted by news agency ANI.
He also noted that the term of the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly ends on November 26, so elections must be completed before that.
“Maharashtra has 288 constituencies, including 25 reserved for Scheduled Tribes and 29 for Scheduled Castes. The state has a total of 9.59 crore electors, with 4.59 crore male voters and 4.64 crore female voters. It is encouraging to see 19.48 lakh first-time voters aged 18–19 years,” Kumar added.
Responding to a question about whether the Maharashtra elections will be held in a single phase or multiple phases, he said, “You will come to know that later”.